I thought about putting on my 178 intake and AFB just to see how it would run.

I presume that if you want to run FAST you'll have to run iron heads. I don't know if they check head casting numbers.

To get that stock like idle, the cam will need to be fairly short on duration, and with that, the earlier recommendation of 9 to 9.5 CR is probably the max in my opinion. Good cam choice and proper installation will help scrub some cranking cylinder pressure. Call Dwayne Porter to help with the cam.